Video Marketing On a Shoestring Budget
This week I'll get tactical, but open with a question:
By Hubert Kang
“The play button is the most compelling call-to-action on the Web.”
— Michael Litt
This week I'll get tactical, but open with a question:
Are you currently using Video to promote your small business?
If you are on the outside looking in when it comes to Video Marketing, I am guessing the usual suspects are preventing you from moving forward:
- Time & Money: It seems time-consuming and costly.
- Purpose: What's my strategy and how would I use Video?
- Uneasiness: I don't want to be recorded on Video.
Creating effective videos has never been easier and cheaper than it is right now. After you've developed a storyboard with the right messaging, the next step is using digital tools and software to cobble everything together.
Today, I wanted to share my "tech stack" that I've used to create videos for myself as well as Clients. It won't make you Christopher Nolan overnight, but it might level-up your current game.
1. Pexels - Video
Pexels offers royalty-free video (photos too). In the search box, make sure you're searching keywords for videos and not photos. Tip #1: Screen for videos that are the right length for your storyboard.
2. Bensound - Music
Bensound has royalty-free and licensed music. It's easy to get lost amongst the sea of different genres and moods available. Tip #2: Click the "free music only" box to bring up royalty-free results vs. licensed.
3. Eleven Labs - AI Voiceover
If you'd rather not use your own voice on video and aren't friends with Will Arnett, this is a good option. Tip #3: If you plan on producing a lot of videos, the free trial runs out. (<10,000 characters a month keeps it free)
4. OBS Studio - Editing
There are lots of video editing tools out there, but this one is Open Source.
Tip #4: Watch a few How-To videos before snipping and cutting.
Drag and drop your Video, Audio, and Voice files to OBS Studio and you're off to the races.
2 Takeaways
1. Include a Call-to-Action. In Litt's quote he mentions the play button as the most compelling CTA, which would make your CTA at the end of your video a close second. Even if it's just a URL, it's an invitation for your audience to explore your website and engage with more content. If your specific video strategy is "top of funnel" then a short link or email makes even more sense.
2. Video is the Ultimate Marketing Amplifier. In addition to your website, your video can easily be edited, spliced, and tweaked for social media posts. Furthermore, after you complete your first few videos (without vendors or agencies), you'll discover that they simply aren't that time consuming.
1 Action
Set aside time this week to evaluate your current Video Marketing strategy for: Cost and Time Production Impact and ROI How can you move the needle on either (or both)? Finally, this issue wouldn't be complete without an example using the tech stack I mentioned: My Homepage Video.